Battle of Debrecen

The Battle of Debrecen occurred from 6 to 29 October 1944 when the Soviet Red Army's 2nd Ukrainian Front, assisted by allied Romanian troops, launched an offensive into Hungary against the German Sixth Army of Army Group South Ukraine. The Red Army and Romanians were allowed to enter Hungary as a result of their victory in the Debrecen offensive operation, and they began the assault on Budapest on 29 December.

Background
On 23 August 1944, Romania signed an armistice with the Soviet Union after the Red Army pushed back the poorly-trained Romanian Army troops and their German Wehrmacht allies, leading to Hitler ordering for the bombing of the Romanian capital of Bucharest. This led to Romania declaring war on Nazi Germany, and Romania joined the Allied Powers. Fyodor Tolbukhin's 3rd Ukrainian Front and Rodion Malinovsky's 2nd Ukrainian Front destroyed 13 Axis divisions and took 100,000 prisoners by 8 September 1944, when Bulgaria also allied with the USSR against Germany. The Hungarian Second Army and the German Sixth Army of Army Group South Ukraine, commanded by Johannes Friessner, were not allowed to withdraw by Hitler, who promised to reinforce them. While they did delay Rodion Malinovsky's offensive on Belgrade with heavy resistance, they were in danger of being encircled when Stalin ordered Malinovsky to launch an offensive from the Arad salient in Hungary. This offensive, heading towards Debrecen, would determine the fate of Hungary, one of the last remaining German allies in Europe.

Battle
The offensive opened with a pincer attack against the Axis forces, and the northern pincer was held back by two panzer divisions. In addition, a Hungarian armored division and an infantry division nearly forced the Soviets back, but the Romanians provided reinforcements to prevent an Axis breakthrough.

The situation was stalemate for days, with the poorly-trained Romanians and the Hungarians launching failed attacks against each other. When Soviet air support destroyed several 23rd Panzer Division tanks guarding Hajduszoboszlo, the Soviets moved into the town, and the Axis forces were forced to retreat to Debrecen.

The Germans and Hungarians constantly repelled Allied attacks on their positions, but Friessner eventually had his men fall back to defensive positions and Nyiregyhaza. The Soviets took the town, then lost it, but the Germans instead used this village as an escape route. By 29 October, the Germans had withdrawn 99 miles, and the Soviets occupied the land that the Germans left behind, although they had suffered heavy losses in the process and had failed to destroy the army group.

Aftermath
The Soviets would take Nyiregyhaza on 30 October, and the Debrecen Offensive allowed for the Soviets to occupy a third of Hungary, as the German panzers were drawn away from the defense of Budapest. The Soviets were able to renew their planned offensive on Budapest as a result of their victory at Debrecen, and the Germans were ultimately forced out of Hungary and the Balkans as a result of the Soviet offensives of late 1944.